TAMPA -- After winning the game in their final turn at the plate each of the previous two games, the stage was set for a three-peat of the Athletics’ late-inning heroics on Wednesday afternoon.
Trailing by four runs after eight innings, the Athletics scoffed at their 1.3 percent win probability entering the top of the ninth against the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Max Muncy led off with a solo home run, setting the tone for a furious rally that saw the A’s plate three runs to trim the deficit to one, bringing their power hitter in Brent Rooker to the plate with the bases loaded and one out.
Rooker and slugging rookie Nick Kurtz struck out back to back, leaving the A’s one swing short of sweeping the Rays in a 6-5 loss. Nonetheless, a series victory over a Tampa Bay club that entered Wednesday carrying the second-best record (26-13) since May 20 is an encouraging finish to a grueling nine-game road trip in which the A’s went 4-5 against the Tigers, Yankees and Rays.
“This team is one of the hottest teams in baseball over the last month or so,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “Our guys came in here with the right mindset. ... Taking two of three from this team, you feel good going home.”
There is no hiding the 1-20 stretch the A’s endured through most of May. That tough stretch dampened previous high hopes of possibly competing for a playoff spot, which the A’s (36-53) still are not dismissing just yet. On the front and back end of that ugly skid, however, has been a solid display of baseball.
The Athletics were 22-20 before that 1-20 skid from May 14-June 4. Since then, they have again held steady at 13-13, which amounts to a 35-33 record before and after losing 20 of 21 games.
“The good stretches show us the team that we have the potential to be,” Rooker said. “That bad stretch made it very clear the things we need to work on and showed us we have a lot to improve on if we want to be the team that we can be all the time.
“There’s value in the good stretches and bad stretches. You just have to figure out what you can take from each little run to improve as a team moving forward.”
With a scheduled off-day on Thursday, here are some takeaways before opening a three-game series against the Giants on Friday night at Sutter Health Park.
Rooker building All-Star case
An All-Star in 2023 and perceived as a snub in ‘24, Rooker is making a strong bid for a second Midsummer Classic appearance. After getting the A’s on the board Wednesday with a 390-foot solo shot off Ryan Pepiot in the first inning, Rooker now has 18 home runs, which leads all primary American League DHs.
Now having reached base safely in 19 of his last 21 games and batting .270 with an .834 OPS for the year, Rooker, who just missed out on reaching Phase 2 of the All-Star voting ballot after finishing third for the AL at DH in Phase 1, should be a strong candidate to make the 2025 All-Star Game as a reserve.
Rookies showing out
The young core that the A’s believe will lead them back to consistent winning baseball is blossoming at the Major League level.
In addition to AL Rookie of the Year favorite Jacob Wilson, Kurtz is tied for the lead among all qualified Major League rookies with 12 home runs. Muncy’s homer on Wednesday was his second in as many games, bringing his total to six since getting called back up from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 4.
Denzel Clarke, meanwhile, continued to amaze with his defensive skills, showing his fearlessness on Wednesday with an impressive catch on the run to chase down a fly ball by Jake Mangum before crashing into the wall in left-center.
"That's a really good baseball team we just played,” Mangum said. “That's a talented lineup, and some arms we saw were absolutely electric.”
Second base questions
Zack Gelof, another key piece of this young club who injured his hand in Spring Training and suffered a setback with a stress reaction in his ribs while rehabbing, is expected to finish his rehab assignment with Las Vegas on Wednesday night and join the A’s for his season debut this weekend.
Luis Urías, who has filled in for Gelof at second base since the start of the season, exited the final against Tampa Bay with right hamstring soreness.
“We think it most likely is soreness or cramping,” Kotsay said. “We don’t feel like it’s something that might land him [on the injured list], but we’ll evaluate him tomorrow and have something on Friday.”